1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,800 You're listening to episode 277 of the Marathon Running Podcast. 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:06,640 In this episode, we're going to talk about my trip to Sydney 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,320 where I ran the TCS Sydney Marathon. 4 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:13,800 This is the marathon running podcast with Letty and Ryan. 5 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,480 Join us for weekly content on all things running and let us 6 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:21,200 take you from the starting line to the finish line and beyond. 7 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,240 Hey runners, and welcome to episode 277. 8 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:29,080 My name is Letty. My name is Ryan. 9 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:32,119 And I am back from from Sydney where I got my 7th star. 10 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:34,520 And in this episode of the podcast I'm going to be doing a 11 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,240 full recap of my entire trip to Sydney. 12 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:39,760 So not just the race. If you want to hear just about 13 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:43,840 the race then feel free to Fast forward probably 20 minutes or 14 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,160 so into the podcast. Also, there will be a full 15 00:00:47,160 --> 00:00:50,600 length YouTube video of vlog about everything that happened 16 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:54,680 during my trip to Sydney and the race, as well as a separate 17 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,080 marathon video. If you're not on my YouTube 18 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:00,720 channel yet and you want to see all that stuff, you can just go 19 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,040 to YouTube and type in Letty Runs. 20 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:05,640 That is the name of my channel and that is that. 21 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:08,520 So that was a disclaimer and like I said, Ryan, I am back. 22 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:09,880 Did you come back with an accent? 23 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:11,440 Yes mate, did you have a problem? 24 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,920 Understanding people not because the Australian accent's 25 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,160 difficult, but any English accents you have a lot of 26 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:20,760 trouble with typically. Yeah, You know, that was the 27 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:24,240 ongoing joke I was telling my friends over in Sydney that 28 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:28,240 every time we listen to the show that we watch on YouTube, I turn 29 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,880 on the subtitles because I don't know what they're saying. 30 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:33,880 And a couple of times I was thrown off a little bit. 31 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:36,680 But All in all, it wasn't as bad as I expected to say. 32 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,240 Shorten everything. And they have different words 33 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:42,200 for things. But I mean, I'm used to it, 34 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,800 right? With languages, usually when 35 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:49,280 you're ESL, you know how to use the context to understand what 36 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:51,280 the meaning is. We'll have to go back and visit 37 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:53,920 again soon. Yes, I'm planning on December, 38 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:54,840 right. And so get ready. 39 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:57,680 I have wanted to spend time there, we flew through there 40 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,800 before but I've never spent time there, so that would be cool to 41 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:03,520 actually see Australia. I'm afraid that you might want 42 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:07,040 to move there after you see. It I might it sounds intriguing. 43 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:08,280 So you want to tell us about your trip? 44 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:10,639 I sure do. OK, so how long was your trip? 45 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:15,480 So my trip was 10 days, although I just got to be in Australia 46 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:18,880 for one week because of the time that it took to get there. 47 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:23,320 I took a flight on a Sunday morning, 7:00 AM to get out of 48 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:25,720 Florida because anyone that lives in Florida knows if you 49 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:27,840 don't fly in the morning, it's always a little bit unsure 50 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:31,720 because of the afternoon storms. I had a long layover in Dallas 51 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,600 which I worked for six hours straight and time flew by. 52 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,000 Luckily I had a priority pass which got me into one of the 53 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,480 lounges, so that was nice. And then I had another stop at 54 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:47,960 LAX and after LAX it was a 15 hour flight to Sydney. 55 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:51,160 So lady, I remember you called me and you were like well I can 56 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:54,440 upgrade to 1st class. Yeah, but by the time I made the 57 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:56,160 decision. To try. 58 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,320 That was gone. Normally it's really expensive 59 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:03,000 to fly first class and we would never do it, but you said it was 60 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,920 not like the upgrade was not unreasonable. 61 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:08,280 It wasn't unreasonable and I think it might have been a fluke 62 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:10,800 because as soon as I hopped back on it was gone. 63 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:12,760 So. So I suffered through the 64 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:14,880 peasant class, which wasn't so bad. 65 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:19,560 I had an aisle seat and I also bought a new pillow in the 66 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,240 airport because I left one of my blow up pillows in my first leg 67 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:28,600 and this pillow ran was amazing. It was a foam, it wasn't blow up 68 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:30,800 and it just it felt really, really good. 69 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:32,800 So it kind of felt like first class. 70 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:34,280 Did you fly with anyone you knew? 71 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:38,040 I did. I saw Leslie from LA on my plane 72 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:41,440 ride and then I did see a lot of other marathoners that I 73 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:43,480 recognized from Facebook groups, etcetera. 74 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,760 So that was kind of cool and that was it. 75 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:51,200 I feel like the flight to Sydney went by faster. 76 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,280 I also followed one of my friends from Sydney's advice, 77 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:58,400 which was to not sleep for the first seven hours and force 78 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:02,480 myself to be stay awake and then, you know, sleep the last 79 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,520 part. So I did get about 5 hours or so 80 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:10,560 of sleep and then lo and behold, I arrived in Sydney Tuesday 81 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:13,960 morning. So I left Sunday night LA and I 82 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,560 have no recollection of Monday because Monday didn't exist for 83 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:19,839 me and I got there Tuesday morning, which that that whole 84 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,280 thing was just kind of weird. Yeah, when you fly that 85 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:24,080 direction, you lose a lot of time. 86 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:27,240 Yeah. So I got to the airport and that 87 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:30,600 was fairly easy. I also had looked up on how to 88 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:34,240 get to my place from the airport, which was just one 89 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,960 train that you take directly from the airport. 90 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,800 So that was easy enough. And then I got to the waterfront 91 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:44,600 of Sydney, which is where I deported the train and Ryan. 92 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,760 And immediately, you know how you and I get vibes when we go 93 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,120 to different cities and we know whether or not the city will be 94 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:53,360 cool? No, but we do get vibes. 95 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:57,480 I'm not a Viber person as much. Well, remember how I had vibes 96 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,600 in Mallorca at the at the waterfront and I didn't love it 97 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:03,240 and. You're much more a vibe person. 98 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:05,520 Yeah, so. So I did feel all the vibes 99 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,520 there. I was like, wow, the city is 100 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:10,680 really, really cool and I can see myself running there and 101 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:12,640 enjoying it, which that was cool. 102 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,720 It was like I got the immediate impression of it feeling like 103 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:20,320 Honolulu and also LA and also Seattle. 104 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:25,600 Seattle cause of the hilliness, Honolulu because of the South 105 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:30,320 Pacific vibes, and then LA just because LA is awesome. 106 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:32,960 I don't know well. Honolulu is in the North 107 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:34,480 Pacific. That's what I said. 108 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,680 South Pacific vibes. OK, I said N Pacific, anyone 109 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:39,960 wants to rewind? Rewind. 110 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:43,480 And then I had to make my way to my hotel, which was located in 111 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:47,680 the Rocks, which is an area that is close to the finish line of 112 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:50,560 the race and also close to Opera House and also close to the 113 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,120 waterfront. But it's hilly and had two 114 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:55,960 suitcases that I was dragging around. 115 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:57,680 And Mana. Did I take a couple of breaks? 116 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:01,720 So how was your hotel stay? I know you were debating between 117 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:05,680 two different places and you ended up choosing the one that 118 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:10,120 was maybe less convenient, but it also seemed more unique. 119 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:12,560 Yeah, exactly. I ended up staying at the 120 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:16,440 Australian Heritage Hotel. The history behind that is that 121 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:20,200 in Australia, in order to sell liquor at pubs, they had to 122 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:23,240 justify it by saying that they were housing travelers. 123 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,720 So there's a lot of hotels that are actually pubs. 124 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:31,400 So in essence, I stayed above a pub which I felt like we're just 125 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,120 going to be a really cool experience because we don't ever 126 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,520 stay above pubs. My hesitation was that I didn't 127 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:40,680 know how loud that pub was going to be and you know, if I needed 128 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,560 to get sleep. But the other thing was I also 129 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:48,840 wasn't seriously racing this marathon and the closing times 130 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:52,360 for bars are midnight. So I just wanted to kind of give 131 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:54,720 it a try. I still had my backup in my 132 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:59,240 pocket which was in a different area in the CB, but this 1 ended 133 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,600 up working out very well for me and I definitely like the 134 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:05,960 location of it best. If anything it was old little 135 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:08,760 hotel rooms, nothing fancy at all. 136 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:12,480 So if you want something fancy that is more American or more 137 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:16,360 standard this is not the place. But I I enjoyed it. 138 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:18,640 It was, it was cool. I thought it sounded cool too. 139 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,800 I mean, I it's funny because I kind of want to stay in a place 140 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:24,720 that's above a pub because we don't really have that here it 141 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:26,520 seems like. Seems like it's an old western 142 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:27,960 or something. Yeah, exactly. 143 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:29,440 That's that's kind of why I liked it. 144 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:33,440 And they had tons of pizza and 100 different draft beers. 145 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,200 Not that I drink any, I mean, I drink a couple, but and it 146 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:39,720 wasn't too loud at night. They had some live music, but 147 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:42,400 everything really kind of toned down around 10. 148 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,520 Or maybe I was just so exhausted I went to bed every night at 10 149 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:47,320 and I slept like a baby. So that was good. 150 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:50,680 Cool, so you got there. It's kind of a week before the 151 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:52,200 marathon. What did you do? 152 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:54,680 Yeah, so I got there on Tuesday and I decided I was going to 153 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,680 force myself to stay up as late as possible. 154 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:02,920 So on Tuesday a friend of mine, Jude, who is Australian, told me 155 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:07,600 let's meet up in Manly Beach. So the way that you navigate a 156 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:10,400 lot in Sydney is you can just take ferries. 157 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:13,280 So I went to the Wharf, took a ferry to Manly Beef. 158 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:15,400 Manly beef. To Manly Beach. 159 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:23,360 Here your mind is right now. To Manly beach and met her there 160 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:27,720 and we went for a nice walk and she showed me the area and then 161 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:30,920 I also got to get into the car with her and drive around to the 162 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,360 areas where she runs in North Head, I think, which is a 163 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:37,799 viewpoint that overlooks the entire city of Sydney and more 164 00:08:37,799 --> 00:08:40,280 and parks. And it was just absolutely 165 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:44,400 gorgeous and I was super excited to to be there with her 'cause 166 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:48,080 when you know, this is like a non tourist experience to be 167 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:50,880 driving with someone in in a different city, right? 168 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:55,200 So that was really, really cool. And after that I went to her 169 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:57,800 house and I met her husband and I hung out there for a little 170 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:00,720 bit, drank some tea. And after that she put me on a 171 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:04,200 bus because she said today you flew, you ran. 172 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,320 Because I forgot to mention, I also went for a run after I 173 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:10,600 landed. And then I took a train and I 174 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:15,480 took a ferry and then we walked. So she said you just got to do 175 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:17,640 all the elements, you're going to take a bus back. 176 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,000 So then I also did the bus, which is kind of cool. 177 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:25,000 Went back to the city and then got home around 7:00 and tried 178 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:28,280 my hardest to stay up till 10 but I think I fell asleep around 179 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:31,080 8:00 and slept. How are the fairies? 180 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:33,600 The fairies are cool, Ryan, because you leave out of the 181 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:37,200 Wharf and when you ride on the ferry, you can see the Harbor 182 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:40,120 Bridge on the left side and the Opera House on the right side, 183 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,520 just exiting. So it's also been recommended to 184 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:46,680 me instead of doing these harbor cruises that are pricey and have 185 00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:50,960 mediocre food, to just navigate and use fairies and enjoy the 186 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:53,960 scenery just as much, especially if you're not in the mood of a 187 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:56,160 booze cruise, Right? So that was really cool. 188 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:59,560 Yeah, to me that sounds fun. Actually the same was the same 189 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:02,880 could be said for Stockholm. You could just take the local 190 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:06,520 fairies and you can get the experience and get to see a lot 191 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:08,520 of cool stuff. And I kind of like it better 192 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:11,120 than taking the touristy ferries. 193 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,520 Yeah, no, 100%. So when are we moving? 194 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:17,680 Right, So then Wednesday came around and I participated in my 195 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:21,680 first running event, right, Because the Facebook group that 196 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:26,560 I very actively participated in this year was the TCS Sydney 197 00:10:26,560 --> 00:10:29,920 Marathon Support Group. And through that group, I am at 198 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:34,840 a whole bunch of local Sydney people, including Ben Lucas, who 199 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:39,200 is the head coach of the TCS Sydney Marathon and he was 200 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:42,360 organizing A shakeout run. Now if you, like I said, follow 201 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:44,280 the YouTube channel, you would have seen that. 202 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,680 He spoke on my videos. I interviewed him and talked to 203 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:50,920 him about the Sydney Marathon and he gave me a full course 204 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:53,360 description. So he was hosting A shakeout run 205 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:55,520 and I was not going to miss meeting him in person. 206 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:59,120 So that's the one I went to on Wednesday, which was Wednesday 207 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:02,280 morning, super early 7:00. It worked out really great with 208 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:05,880 the jet lag. I didn't expect to know or 209 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:09,120 recognize as many people there because again, this was not the 210 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:11,960 actual TCS, Sydney Marathon support group Shakeout run. 211 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:15,040 But when I got there, basically all of them were there. 212 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,160 I got to meet Ben Rock in person, who was the organizer of 213 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:22,120 the Facebook group Enrique or on Enrique. 214 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:24,320 I think that's how the Australians call him. 215 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:27,760 He was there, which was really, really awesome to meet those two 216 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:30,880 individuals. Besides that, there are more 217 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:35,080 people that I hadn't met in person and also some other 218 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:39,160 people that I became friends with, including Ani, who is a 219 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,320 runner from Seattle, and he's just a super awesome person. 220 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:45,120 I saw him a couple more times during that weekend. 221 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:47,560 There was a really nice girl named Lauren. 222 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:51,400 Robert Wang was there from his own Facebook group and just, I'm 223 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:53,640 hoping I'm not forgetting anyone, but there's a ton of 224 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,960 people that I already knew and a lot of new runners. 225 00:11:57,560 --> 00:12:00,280 And the meeting was in front of a coffee shop, but it was right 226 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:02,480 around the corner from the waterfront of Sydney. 227 00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:07,120 So it was absolutely gorgeous to be there on that morning. 228 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:10,240 There was approximately, I want to say there was over 100 229 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:15,400 runners and we started a run that ran by the Wharf towards 230 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:18,720 the Opera House, passed the Opera House, etcetera, and then 231 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:22,320 eventually turned around. The locals that were leading the 232 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:26,440 run stopped for some photo OPS, which that was really cool. 233 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:31,120 And while we were running, the whole city had just turned into 234 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:34,120 a running village, which, you know, that's exactly what I love 235 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:37,840 about going to these races, that these cities turn into just 236 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:40,680 running cities. We saw so many other groups 237 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:44,880 doing their shakeout runs. And yeah, on the way back, we 238 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:48,960 also saw Kipchogi doing his own shakeout run. 239 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:52,800 And when I say it Kipchogi, I mean, it was Kipchogi and a 240 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:56,960 couple of his Pacers, and Kipchoki's coach was fairly 241 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:02,960 close behind him and then a ton of other runners that were fans 242 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,280 that decided to just run with him. 243 00:13:05,680 --> 00:13:07,040 And that was really, really cool. 244 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:10,680 So that was a really nice introduction to to Sydney in in 245 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:11,680 a running way. Cool. 246 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:14,360 Have you ever seen Kipcho running like that before? 247 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:18,320 I have seen him running like that before, but also not 248 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:22,280 usually When I see him running at these major marathons, it 249 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:26,280 wasn't the way it was here where it was like he was running and 250 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:29,040 then he had his pace of friends and then there's just like a 251 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,160 flock of people following him taking selfies. 252 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:35,200 Just just that whole he goes for a run and all of a sudden he has 253 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:37,160 like 20-30 people running with him. 254 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:38,720 That was kind of cool. That's pretty cool. 255 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:42,320 Yeah, so then after that, everyone from the shakeout run 256 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:45,520 went for coffee. I went home to shower because 257 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:49,240 Michael, my friend from Facebook, who I'd never met 258 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:52,360 before, but I'd known him for, you know, five years, he was 259 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:56,480 going to show me around and do the famous walk from Bondi Beach 260 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:59,160 to Koji Beach. And so I was getting ready to do 261 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:02,440 that. My friend Min tagged along and 262 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:04,720 we did that. And that was just absolutely 263 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:06,440 gorgeous. Literally, you're walking on 264 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:11,000 this boardwalk that is a little bit hilly all around, and every 265 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,320 time you turn there is a beach, there's water. 266 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:15,280 You would love it. It sounds great. 267 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:17,360 Yeah. So then after that. 268 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,680 Wait so which beach is better, Manly or Bondi? 269 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:23,480 That is the great debate, right? I've told you about that, that 270 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:25,800 it's manly versus Bondi. You got to pick. 271 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:28,600 I can't yet. We can't pick until we both see 272 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:30,160 it. Which one are you favoring? 273 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:33,000 And I haven't spent enough time there to really know, you know, 274 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:36,840 preliminarily, I can't, Yes, no, do it, not doing it. 275 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:40,640 Why Torn? So anyway, after that, Michael 276 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:45,600 was kind enough to drive us back into the city and I had the zoo 277 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:49,360 on my agenda for that day. So Min said sure, let's go do 278 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:51,320 the zoo. Even though we only had an hour 279 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:55,240 and a half, we rushed over to the zoo, which Ryan, that is 280 00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:58,240 really cool. You take a ferry over to the zoo 281 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:01,800 and the bus takes you up to the zoo and the entire zoo property 282 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:05,200 overlooks the Bay and looks at Sydney, the city. 283 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,040 I mean, those animals are lucky with that real estate. 284 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:10,000 Well, as long as they're treated well, right? 285 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:12,480 Yeah, and I looked that up because, you know, I'm like all 286 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:14,480 animal activists. So I looked up if this was an 287 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:16,480 ethical zoo, and it definitely is. 288 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,320 It was cool to see some koalas in the trees. 289 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:21,800 They don't do much. They just basically sleep. 290 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:24,800 I mean, I think that first time I went to the zoo, all of their 291 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,800 eyes were closed the entire time and they are just sleeping. 292 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:32,400 Saw some Kangaroos, but they didn't attack or anything, they 293 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:34,400 were just peacefully laying around. 294 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:37,800 I think they were used to people and some other animals, really 295 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:41,800 cute hopping mice, baccoons or something like that, Bats, I 296 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:43,720 mean all kinds of stuff. Really, really cool. 297 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:47,160 But like I said, it was kind of rushed and that was it for 298 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:49,240 Wednesday. But it was good. 299 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:51,040 Cool. So let's move on to Thursday. 300 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:55,560 All right, so Thursday came, I get up and did a little run by 301 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:59,560 myself and got all showered up because Thursday was the day of 302 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,000 the press conference. And the press conference took 303 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:05,600 place in the Opera House, which that was really cool because 304 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:07,960 normally you don't really get access to the Opera House. 305 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:11,320 And they had planned it on the side of the Opera House that 306 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:14,520 faces the the Bay. So that was really cool because 307 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,320 you know, it was going to have a really great backdrop. 308 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:21,200 Wayne Larden, the race director of Sydney spoke and the Prime 309 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:27,000 Minister also, and a lot of other people as well as the 310 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,760 athletes that they brought out. Then I posted that on our 311 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:32,960 YouTube channel. That was a great experience. 312 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:37,200 One of my favorite athletes that I follow religiously, though, 313 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:41,480 was missing Marcel Hoog, who is the GOAT of the wheelchairs. 314 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,760 He literally wins every race he ever participates in. 315 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:48,120 I think he wasn't there. The reason being that he was 316 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,160 still racing I think Friday night and wasn't even going to 317 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:55,160 make it in until Saturday night. So that was too bad he wasn't 318 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:56,400 there. Had a ton of questions written 319 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:58,760 down for him, but yeah, so he wasn't there. 320 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,080 But again, of course they had brought out Kibchogi and Sufana 321 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:04,160 San. I got to chat with Kibchogi a 322 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:08,760 little bit about Kenya and life, which was also really cool. 323 00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:11,160 So after the press conference, they took all the athletes 324 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:17,480 outside to conduct photo shoots with the Press of Australia, et 325 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:18,880 cetera. I mean, it was just like a 326 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,160 gorgeous backdrop. So that was really cool. 327 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:25,319 After the press conference, I decided that it was time to go 328 00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:29,040 to the Expo. I'd heard rumors while I was at 329 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:32,160 the press conference that there's tons of lines and 330 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:34,640 waiting times and that the ASIC store, you know, ASIC is a 331 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:39,000 sponsor, that it looked awful because people were just whining 332 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:40,800 to buy the merch and it was all on the floor. 333 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:45,000 But by the time I got there, which was around 12:30 or one, 334 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:46,760 it wasn't bad. There was no line. 335 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:49,760 I got right in. I wasn't planning on buying any 336 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,680 ASIC swag, so I navigated through that and I think there 337 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:55,920 was a line for check out. It was busy, but again, I just 338 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,040 kind of went through it because I had plans to just get my bib 339 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:02,840 and then meet with a couple of local Australian vendors, one of 340 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:06,960 them being Runly who gave us a couple of running vests. 341 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:10,840 So it was really cool to do that, to meet them, and then I 342 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:13,400 got out of the Expo. So lady forgot something at the 343 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:15,240 Expo? I actually forgot two things, 344 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:17,440 Ryan. The first thing I forgot was to 345 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:21,680 drop my drop bag. So the Sydney Marathon has you 346 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:26,600 drop your drop bag for marathon day at the Expo and not on race 347 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:29,400 day. So I forgot to do that and that 348 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:31,480 meant I had to go back all the way to the Expo. 349 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:34,280 But the other thing I also forgot was my sunglasses. 350 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,680 I'd taken off my sunglasses when I was trying on the running 351 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:40,080 vests and I left them at the Runley stand. 352 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,760 So I mean, sucked, but in my head it was like another reason 353 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,080 to return to the Expo. Because, you know, I love Expos. 354 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:48,080 It's true. So Runley gave us a couple of 355 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:50,440 running vests, huh? Beautiful running vests, yeah. 356 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:52,280 They look really cool. We'll probably do a review of 357 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:54,800 them, but I actually really thought it looked nice and 358 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:55,720 thought out. I liked it. 359 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:58,520 Yeah, Robbie, the guy from Runley put a lot of thought into 360 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:01,000 developing this vest and it feels really good. 361 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:05,120 It has a little areas to singe, so it's not going to bounce. 362 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:06,920 Hopefully. I'm going to try mine out on on 363 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:10,480 Sunday when I go for my run. So then after that, after that, 364 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:14,440 I went to Track Smith because I wanted to get one thing which I 365 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:19,240 get for every marathon, which is a base layer, which is just a 366 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:22,560 merino wool layer that says the name of the city that I'm 367 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:24,200 running. I think at this point I have all 368 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:25,480 of them, so I don't need any more. 369 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:29,120 But that was my reason to go to Track Smith, which unfortunately 370 00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:32,520 was really far out of the way. Track Smith was like a whole bus 371 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:36,040 ride away. We walked, but yeah, that was 372 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:39,200 that. And then after that, I finally 373 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:42,120 went back to my hotel and I ran. I felt exhausted. 374 00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:44,640 I felt like jet lag was creeping on me. 375 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:49,760 But I had made plans with my friend Jude to join their run 376 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:52,320 with the Harborview Runners, which is just a weekly running 377 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,480 group. And it took everything to force 378 00:19:55,480 --> 00:20:00,040 myself to make it to that. Mainly just, you know, I 379 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:04,400 committed to it. It would only be at 6:30 and I'm 380 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:08,040 only in Sydney one time. I don't have kids to take care 381 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:11,400 of because you are doing that. So I forced myself to go to this 382 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:13,600 run and it was absolutely amazing. 383 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:16,680 I mean the running community, the people of Sydney, it was 384 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:20,800 just so nice. That run was I think about 5 385 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:23,760 kilometers or 6, I don't know, I don't count in kilometers. 386 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:27,680 But that run took us across the Harbour Bridge and so I got to 387 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:31,200 see the Harbour Bridge at night time and back across the Harbour 388 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:35,480 Bridge and then some other areas including Luna Park, which is an 389 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,160 amusement park with Ferris wheels and everything. 390 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,600 It was absolutely gorgeous. You had a whole view of Sydney 391 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,640 at night time. So I'm really glad that I went. 392 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,560 And we went to get pizza afterwards and chatted with 393 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:50,640 people from the group. So obviously Jude was there. 394 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,480 Damon was there, who I also had known, I'd met him in Boston 395 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:56,360 before. Also Australian, a girl named 396 00:20:56,360 --> 00:20:59,280 Priscilla, She was super funny and awesome. 397 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:01,920 Enrique was there, another girl named Sonia. 398 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:06,320 It was just such a cool crowd to to chat with and you know, share 399 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:10,760 pizza and chats about miles and things I don't know about 400 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:13,680 Australia, including I don't know anything about New Zealand. 401 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,360 So I was learning a lot. So it was really, really cool. 402 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:20,160 And I got home I think at like 9:00 or 10:00 PM from the 403 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:22,720 shakeout run and went straight to bed. 404 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,320 But I was very happy that I had made it out there. 405 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:27,240 You start adjusting to the time difference. 406 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:29,960 I think I did start slowly but surely. 407 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,880 I mean, I never had any problems with like fatigue in the middle 408 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:35,920 of a day, it was just that fatigue set in earlier in the 409 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:38,000 evening than normal. So what about Friday? 410 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,560 Yeah, so Friday we had another shakeout run, which I don't know 411 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:43,760 how many shakeout runs I attended. 412 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:46,120 I think I ran more during the shakeout run than I did the 413 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:48,760 whole marathon that week. But you know, I figured you're 414 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:52,120 Yolo, you only in Sydney one time, you got to do it all. 415 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,200 So it was 9:00 AM shakeout run with the TCS City Marathon 416 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:58,400 support group. And you can, the brand had 417 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,800 actually also sent me a bunch of gels to hand out for that shake 418 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:04,040 out run. Again, for this one, some really 419 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:07,360 cool people showed up. Obviously all the organizers of 420 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:11,080 the Facebook support curve, including Enrique and Ben Rock 421 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:14,040 and also my friend Leslie was there. 422 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:17,640 Paul from the Speed Striders group, who was a runner I'd met 423 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:20,360 in Paris before, etcetera, he was there. 424 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,720 Another gentleman named Eric. And I can't even, I can't even 425 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,480 think about think of all the names of the people that were 426 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:27,840 there. There's a ton of people. 427 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:30,840 It was really, really cool. I'm super glad I made it out for 428 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:32,840 that run. And that also took place in an 429 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:35,560 area in the rocks that was really, really cool. 430 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:38,720 And for this shakeout run, we ran through an area that really 431 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:41,440 reminded me of Marina del Rey. You know how they have the 432 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,440 housing that is by the docks in the harbor. 433 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:47,080 So it took us through there and it was beautiful. 434 00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:49,000 That's cool. Yeah, it was really cool. 435 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:53,480 I want to see it now. I know right after that I went 436 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:57,720 back to the Expo to drop of my drop bag and meet of my friends 437 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:01,680 Patti and Michael from Florida who had just gotten in the day 438 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:03,640 before. So that was really cool. 439 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:08,720 Did some more shopping, found my sunglasses and chatted a whole 440 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:12,320 bunch with people at the Expo. Yeah, so you found your 441 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:14,480 sunglasses. Found my sunglasses, that was 442 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:17,440 cool. And then after that I hung out 443 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,800 with Patti and Michael a little bit more. 444 00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:25,000 Patti and I had discovered that the best Botox injector lives in 445 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:28,960 Sydney, so we went and did that and then what? 446 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:32,800 I'm rolling my eyes. And then after that, I attended 447 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:36,440 an event called Meet the Stars, which was at the Opera House 448 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:42,680 where they had Avip zoned off the finish line area to host 449 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:48,000 kind of like an opening ceremony for the marathon, indicating 450 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,240 that this marathon is now one of the seven stars. 451 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,960 So that's cool. They had thought of a bunch of 452 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:56,960 little things that made it a good event. 453 00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:01,080 They had brought people of Aboriginal ancestry that were 454 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:05,080 playing the instrument. I forgot how, but that horn the 455 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:07,240 Longhorn that you blow through is called. 456 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:10,400 And they did their little ceremony with the smoke. 457 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:16,520 And then after that, they had Kibchogi and Hassan run in and 458 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,560 entered the stage, which was also cool to see because Kiptogi 459 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,840 was running and he was signing people's running shoes and all 460 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:25,080 that stuff before he came on stage. 461 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:28,400 So they had these two amazing marathoners on stage. 462 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:32,040 If anyone doesn't know who's Sifan Hassan is, she is an 463 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,040 Olympian. She ended up winning the 5K10K 464 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,280 and the marathon last year in the Olympics. 465 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:40,640 She's very inspirational. She's originally Ethiopian, but 466 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:42,760 she's from the Netherlands, so that's the country she 467 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:47,120 represents. And her and Kipchogi, when they 468 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:50,160 are on stage together, which we'd seen the day before at the 469 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:53,400 press conference, they just have this dynamic that is super 470 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:55,120 interesting, right? Because Kipchogi is kind of 471 00:24:55,120 --> 00:24:57,640 like, I call him the Dalai Lama of running. 472 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:01,920 He speaks all thoughtful and makes you think and all that 473 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:04,440 stuff. And Sifan Hassan, she just 474 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:07,200 talks. She was like, you know, saying 475 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:09,960 really funny things, like I just want to be like all the other 476 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:12,000 runners. All the other runners get to go 477 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,280 use the restroom together when they're tired, and I just want 478 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:16,680 to be one of them. She just talks and she's 479 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:18,880 hilarious. So every time she was talking, 480 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:20,920 Kipchoge was next to her just cracking up. 481 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:25,040 And every time he was talking, she just stood and stared at him 482 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:27,720 and was all inspired. So that was a really cool 483 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:30,760 dynamic to witness up close. Yeah, that sounds good. 484 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:33,680 Sometimes people just seem to compliment each other. 485 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:34,960 Yeah. And they did. 486 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:36,120 They did. It was really, really good. 487 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:40,080 The highlight of the event was the end where Sufan, Hassan and 488 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:45,360 Kipchogi were asked to countdown from 10 to 0 and there was a 489 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:47,480 fireworks. Ryan, there was a fireworks for 490 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:49,800 this major by the city of Sydney. 491 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:54,080 It was just absolutely gorgeous and amazing and that went on for 492 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:56,720 quite a while. After that they had a little 493 00:25:56,760 --> 00:25:59,320 catering going on and it was just beautiful. 494 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:04,480 There was a lot of the Seven Star Company people and people 495 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:05,760 from the running world. So that was cool. 496 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:09,560 After that I went to bed just to get back up on Saturday. 497 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:12,320 Now we're talking about the day before the race. 498 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:16,240 We did another shakeout run. And when I say we, I mean 499 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,320 basically we did one with Michael and it was the other 500 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:24,200 Michael and this Michael, Patty had been injured and so her and 501 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,840 Jude were walking and so we ran by the waterfront. 502 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:30,320 It was beautiful. Then we had some coffee at the 503 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:35,400 Intercontinental Hotel and after that I just kind of hung out by 504 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:38,360 myself. I went through the markets at 505 00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:40,080 the Rocks every Saturday and Sunday. 506 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:44,080 I guess they have markets and checked out that kind of stuff. 507 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:48,840 Then I also checked out the CBD, the business district and the 508 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:52,600 shopping area for a little while and then it was, you know, it's 509 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,640 marathon eve. I laid everything out, my flat 510 00:26:55,640 --> 00:27:00,480 lay, etcetera, and then I grabbed dinner with Patty and 511 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:05,480 Michael, you know, carb loading and called it a night. 512 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:09,240 The night before the marathon. Yes, twas the night before the 513 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:11,600 marathon. So you want to finally get into 514 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:13,240 the marathon? Are you bored yet? 515 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:15,720 No, I'm not bored. I think people love these long 516 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:18,200 race recaps because it's also kind of like a recap of a whole 517 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:20,840 trip, right? And we were talking like 4 days 518 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:23,080 into it. It's finally marathon day. 519 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:24,880 Normally we don't do that, but yeah. 520 00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:27,800 Here we are. So this marathon is a little bit 521 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:29,720 different as to the starting time. 522 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:32,880 The starting time of the marathon is 615 for the 523 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:37,920 professionals and 6:30 for us, which I kind of liked. 524 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:41,920 I know you liked Stockholm, that starts at noon, right? 525 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:45,760 But this one was nice because you'd run the marathon and 526 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:48,680 you're done before noon or around noon, depending on your 527 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:52,320 time, and then you still have the entire day to celebrate it. 528 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:54,640 And what else do you do in the morning of a marathon, right? 529 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:58,000 I mean, most of us wake up early anyway and sit around. 530 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:03,320 So unlike New York, which I like that I ran New York, but you 531 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:05,440 know, you get up so early and you have to take buses and 532 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:07,560 ferries and then you don't even start till 10:00. 533 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:11,040 It was really cool to to start a marathon early. 534 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:15,200 I mostly was like worried in Stockholm that the marathon 535 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:17,840 would start and it would be freezing cold and then it would 536 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:22,880 warm up and so you couldn't really pick good clothing and so 537 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,560 for the marathon. But I like the start time 538 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:28,120 because it started right at noon and I went through the day. 539 00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:30,600 I was like all perfect temperature throughout the day. 540 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:33,360 No, you're right with that. I mean, it was pretty cold for 541 00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:35,240 this marathon. I was well prepped for that, as 542 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,200 you know, I checked the bag and half of the stuff in my checked 543 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:43,520 bag was throwaway clothes, so I felt like I had enough to wear. 544 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:49,960 It was 45°, which felt colder to someone coming from Florida, 545 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:54,240 right? So I was wearing my shorts and 546 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:57,840 my crop top and my sports bra and above that I put on some 547 00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:04,400 fleece lined pants and a fleece lined hoodie, a towel and a very 548 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:08,960 good looking trash bag. Designer trash bag. 549 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:12,840 A designer trash. Navigating to the race was 550 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:16,240 really easy because you know me, I'm not one to look up stuff, 551 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:19,120 but I've done enough research with these videos that I was 552 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:23,000 providing that I knew I just needed to to catch a metro to go 553 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:26,120 to my starting corral. And so I did that. 554 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:28,920 I got there on the prescribed time, but honestly, I feel like 555 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:32,600 I could have gone there a lot later and wouldn't have had to 556 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:35,560 wait in the cold for that long because it did get pretty 557 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:37,120 chilly. I felt like the temperatures 558 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:40,640 were going down a little bit. So we stood around for a while 559 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:44,600 in the dark, chatted, nobody was really nervous because we knew 560 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:46,360 we were just running this race for fun. 561 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:49,520 I had the intentions of running this race, or at least starting 562 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:52,600 it with my friend Michael. And so we did. 563 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,240 At the starting lane, just like in the airplane, I ran into my 564 00:29:56,240 --> 00:30:01,160 friend Leslie, who I asked what are your goals for this race? 565 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:05,760 And she said she wanted to run a sub 340, which is really good 566 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:08,080 for such an aggressive, hilly course. 567 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:14,160 And she ended up running a 332, winning her age group, which I'm 568 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,080 just cool. So proud of that, right? 569 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:21,400 Because she's my friend. Humble brag. 570 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:25,000 Leslie Cohen, she's amazing. But yeah, it was cool to see her 571 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,120 at the starting line. I feel like I always run into 572 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:30,120 her at any starting line. I run into her in LA wherever I 573 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:31,200 go. Leslie's there. 574 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:35,680 So that was really cool. And with that, the race started. 575 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:37,080 So lady, what was your goal for the race? 576 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:42,160 So my goal for the race was just to do an easy run and feel 577 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:44,120 effortless, whatever that would be. 578 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:46,800 Because as you know, I'm training for Chicago and I 579 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,080 wanted to save my legs. Nobody should be running a 580 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:51,280 marathon before another marathon. 581 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:55,360 So I went in very cautiously and with the intent to just have the 582 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:57,280 most fun. And did you have fun? 583 00:30:57,560 --> 00:30:58,960 Yes. OK, good. 584 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:00,680 So you're successful in your goal. 585 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:03,280 Yes. So in typical fashion, I like to 586 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:05,560 try to separate it. I want to separate it into more, 587 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:08,400 but at least first half, second-half, so memorable 588 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:12,160 experiences from the first half. Oh, I knew you were going to do 589 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:14,200 that. Always separating that first and 590 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:16,120 second-half. All right, Memorable 591 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:17,840 experiences. All right. 592 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,960 First half started and felt amazing. 593 00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:25,240 I had in my mind that the first half was going to be more 594 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:29,680 difficult than the second-half. So I went out with Michael. 595 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:33,320 We chatted a whole bunch while we were running and it was 596 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:36,600 really, really pretty. There was enough space around me 597 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:40,240 to where if if anyone wanted to run faster or if anyone was 598 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:41,760 going for a goal, it wasn't crammed. 599 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:44,000 And that was really nice about this major because a lot of the 600 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,760 majors are really crammed when you run them. 601 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:50,320 So first half was gorgeous. You crossed the Harbor Bridge. 602 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:54,200 While I was crossing the Harbor Bridge, I saw Ashley from Nordic 603 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:57,680 Track, so she's a instructor. I want to say it's called Ifit, 604 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:01,000 which is the treadmill that my brother Steven has and you can 605 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,400 put in there that you want to run a certain marathon. 606 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:06,040 Nikki put in that you want to run the city marathon, so she 607 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:10,240 has a camera crew following her and talking through the entire 608 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:12,760 marathon. I guess at the time when I saw 609 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:15,840 her, she'd taken a break and she was cheering on people, so that 610 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:18,000 was really, really cool. Her camera crew was there and 611 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,640 she was, you know, she's very bouncy and very happy. 612 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:24,200 It was really cool to see her. We crossed that bridge. 613 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:29,320 It was absolutely gorgeous and there was a ton of fun people 614 00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:32,040 running in costumes. I saw La Boo Boo. 615 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:34,120 I mean, it was just a lot of fun. 616 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:38,480 There were hills and I saw the hills, but Ryan, I didn't feel 617 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:41,480 them when I was running them. I felt like my pace never slowed 618 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:44,200 down. I felt like nothing felled hard 619 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:46,920 on my quads or anything. I guess I was going slow enough 620 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:50,560 to really, really enjoy it. So the for the people that don't 621 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:52,520 know, you saw the Boo Boo running. 622 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:59,160 Yeah, La Boo Boo is a doll that is trendy right now and all the 623 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:01,680 kids and grown-ups have to have them. 624 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:04,440 I have one, you have one. No, I don't. 625 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:06,720 Well, Kai has it. He's holding it for you. 626 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:09,640 Oh, OK. It was an excuse to get another 627 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:11,720 one. I'll post them on Instagram, but 628 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:13,920 that was kind of cool. But somebody had a costume and 629 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:15,360 it's actually running in the costume, Huh. 630 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:17,880 Yeah, that was really cool. I took a video of that for the 631 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:19,720 kids. And the other perk of the first 632 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:23,440 half was that usually I don't like in and out courses, but 633 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:27,480 there was a lot of in and outs on this race and it was cool 634 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:29,440 because you could see the elite runners. 635 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:34,040 So I saw the wheelchair racers. I didn't see Marcel Hoog because 636 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:36,920 obviously he's the fastest 1. He always wins and I wasn't fast 637 00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:39,560 enough to catch him on his way back. 638 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:43,800 But I saw some other ones and we saw the lead elite runners 639 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:46,320 coming back. And then, lo and behold, 640 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:50,400 everybody that was running stopped when Kipchogi went by, 641 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:53,960 and we all cheered him on. That was really, really cool. 642 00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:55,560 My gosh. So yeah, I guess that was just 643 00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:57,040 the first half. It was really good. 644 00:33:57,240 --> 00:34:00,080 It felt really nice to cross that half line. 645 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:03,600 It felt good. So do you want to get into the 646 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:07,160 second-half? Yeah, so I continued the run and 647 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:11,239 again, the effort was the same. I was having just a really good 648 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:12,440 day. I was having so much fun. 649 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:16,679 I talked to so many people. I met this elderly gentleman in 650 00:34:16,679 --> 00:34:21,360 the Ecuadorian running shirt so I chatted with him. 651 00:34:21,679 --> 00:34:25,960 I also saw this one girl that had glitter in her hair so I 652 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:28,520 said I like the glitter in your hair and we ended up running 653 00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:32,000 like 8 miles together. She was a girl from Norway who 654 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:35,280 was also saving her legs for Chicago who was also trained to 655 00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:39,560 get a low three 20s in Chicago so we just chatted the whole 656 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:42,400 time. She's a mom of four kids and two 657 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:46,000 of the kids are the same kids are the same age as our kids 658 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:47,239 and. Two of the kids are the same as 659 00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:48,679 our kids. Yeah, Ryan, what have you been 660 00:34:48,679 --> 00:34:50,120 doing? But that was that was really 661 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:51,239 cool. What have you been doing? 662 00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:56,360 What? Do you mean Oh, so so that was 663 00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:58,160 really cool. You know, it was really cool to 664 00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:02,520 chat and have have a companion and just enjoy the course. 665 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:06,280 There was so much music out there and it never felt crowded. 666 00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:08,120 Ryan. That was just like mind boggling 667 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:10,120 even when it bottlenecked a little bit. 668 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:11,920 Did they Max out on their number? 669 00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:15,960 I mean, they went from 24,000 to 35,000. 670 00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:18,360 And Wayne, the race director, when I interviewed him, he had 671 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:21,600 told me that they could potentially go bigger, but their 672 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:23,560 goal wasn't to be the biggest marathon. 673 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:26,880 Like, you know, it's like a pissing contest between London 674 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:30,160 and New York all the time, and the race feels accordingly. 675 00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:33,560 It's always super crowded and busy, whereas this race just 676 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:36,640 really felt good and it felt fun and it was scenic and just 677 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:39,760 gorgeous, right? And again, I'm probably the only 678 00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:43,760 one here, but I really didn't feel the hills until the very, 679 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:45,800 very last hill. You had to run through the 680 00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:49,920 botanical gardens, which that in itself is like people were just 681 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:53,760 sitting on the lawn cheering people on or just sitting 682 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:55,720 reading books. That was really cool to go 683 00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:57,320 through. And then there is a hill, I 684 00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:00,800 think I want to say around mile or kilometer 40. 685 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,120 And that one I felt a little bit in my quartz. 686 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:07,440 I was like, OK, I can feel this hill a tiny little bit, but you 687 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:10,360 know, really nothing. So you were you ready to be done 688 00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:13,520 near the end? No, actually, Ryan, I cried at 689 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:16,360 the 40 kilometer mark and I never cried while I'm running 690 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:19,080 those off and I never cry while I'm running. 691 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:23,320 But at kilometer 40 I started getting really sad because this 692 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:27,600 race was going to be over and I didn't want it to be over. 693 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:31,040 So that was a little bit out of the ordinary for me. 694 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:32,680 So you seem to be having a lot of energy. 695 00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:35,520 Did you take any fuels along the way? 696 00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:40,160 You know, The funny thing is Ryan, I took one, you can gel 697 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:43,600 and then I didn't take anything and then I took like 1/2 a goo 698 00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:49,120 because I had accidentally stuck my Yukon gels in my shorts and 699 00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:52,320 not the pockets. So I felt them fall out within 700 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:54,680 the first mile, which, you know, whatever. 701 00:36:54,720 --> 00:36:58,040 I wasn't going for time anyway. But yeah, so I didn't really 702 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:01,960 have any fueling except for the Powerade on the course and 703 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,200 water. And I feel great the whole time 704 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:06,120 anyway. They have stuff there for you. 705 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:09,000 Yeah, they had goo stations, but again, I don't really. 706 00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:12,280 I don't really like goo because it's really sweet and I can't 707 00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:15,600 just get it down, so I was just running on water and Gatorade 708 00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:16,640 and it felt amazing. Well. 709 00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:18,400 That's good. So you ready to describe the 710 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:20,280 finish now? Yes, the finish line, what 711 00:37:20,280 --> 00:37:22,640 everyone has been waiting for. Oh my gosh, Ryan. 712 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:25,440 So you're running up from the botanical gardens. 713 00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:29,240 You make it right and then you run straight and then you feel a 714 00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:32,760 gentle downhill and then a more aggressive downhill and that 715 00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:35,240 downhill. Ryan Oh my gosh, I cried again. 716 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:38,800 You're running down this hill and all of a sudden you see the 717 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:41,560 water coming up. Like you see the water, you're 718 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:43,320 getting closer to it, and then you do water. 719 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:45,320 That was your tears. No, it wasn't. 720 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:49,160 You see the water, the ocean coming up and then you do 1 721 00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:53,200 little slight right turn and all of a sudden the Opera House 722 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:56,800 creeps in your full view and you're just like Oh my gosh, 723 00:37:56,800 --> 00:38:00,640 this is the most amazing and epic finish I've ever seen in a 724 00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:03,240 race. It was just absolutely gorgeous. 725 00:38:03,240 --> 00:38:05,640 And of course you're totally high on endorphins 'cause you're 726 00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:08,560 going down that hill. So even, I mean, I was going a 727 00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:15,160 super steady 850-4855 pace for the entire race except for those 728 00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:19,400 last .2 miles 'cause I felt like sprinting my heart out and some 729 00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:22,840 like crying and running and videotaping all at once. 730 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:26,560 And you're running into this lowered area where the opera 731 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:31,360 houses and tons of people behind the finish line with that 732 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:33,320 backdrop. It was just absolutely amazing. 733 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:36,720 If you have not seen that video that I posted about it, you 734 00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:40,520 definitely should because it was just I mean, there, there was no 735 00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:43,800 other finish like it ever. That's how I feel. 736 00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:49,400 So on the Letty scale one to 10 scale of marathons, you rate 737 00:38:49,400 --> 00:38:51,520 this one. 15. You can't go 15. 738 00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:53,160 It's one out of 10. OK. 739 00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:57,560 So it's a 10 plus, no? OK, so another relevant answer. 740 00:38:57,680 --> 00:38:59,960 I think we're going to have to give up on the letty scale 741 00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:01,640 because they're all basically all 10s. 742 00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:04,840 Well, you know, I always rated for the whole experience and 743 00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:08,360 this was just it, Ryan, this is like if I never get to run a 744 00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:11,720 major again, let it be Sydney. Let it be the one that I run 745 00:39:11,720 --> 00:39:14,760 every year if I can get in somehow, you know, it was just 746 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:16,560 really gorgeous. I think the whole trip was 747 00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:21,520 amazing and the fact that, you know, it was just such a great 748 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:26,120 grand entrance of the Sydney Marathon into the World Marathon 749 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:27,520 Majors. So we're going to have the 750 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:31,600 secretly change the scale to one out of 20, but still tell Eddie 751 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:35,200 it's one out of 10 and then maybe we'll get more reasonable 752 00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:37,120 score for some of these marathons. 753 00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:39,120 I mean, right? I feel like this race is the 754 00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:42,600 granddaddy of all the marathons. It was gorgeous. 755 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:46,920 The metal was beautiful. The metal is like, you know, 756 00:39:46,920 --> 00:39:49,760 it's like a silver metal and it has here, let me show you. 757 00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:53,520 It has these teeth at the bottom and I was like, oh, that's 758 00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:55,280 interesting. Opera House. 759 00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:57,680 OK, I didn't know that. When I looked at it first, I 760 00:39:57,680 --> 00:39:59,040 thought it was like the head of a pineapple. 761 00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:01,440 I didn't really think. And then I was like, oh, it must 762 00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:03,120 be a shark bite. And then when I. 763 00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:05,400 Learned. I mean, I guess I learned on 764 00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:06,800 Instagram, that was the Opera House. 765 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:11,080 I tried to find a spot in Sydney the next day where I could hold 766 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:12,600 it up and it would actually match. 767 00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:15,160 And it kind of happened in on a ferry. 768 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:18,480 When I was on a ferry, I was holding it up and it matched the 769 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:20,440 backdrop. That's kind of interesting. 770 00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:23,160 I wonder if there is a spot where you could just perfectly 771 00:40:23,160 --> 00:40:24,960 match it. There, There is one, and 772 00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:27,200 somebody marked it on social media. 773 00:40:27,240 --> 00:40:29,360 Yeah, yeah. So that was that. 774 00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:34,720 I finished and I ran into Ani. I hugged the girl I ran with. 775 00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:37,440 And Michael Young was there. Michael had been in charge of 776 00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:42,880 the convoy, so he had been in the on the bike that was with 777 00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:45,360 Kipchoge the whole time. So that was really cool. 778 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:47,720 And it was really nice because he had come to the finish line 779 00:40:47,720 --> 00:40:49,760 to say hi to me. So that was really, really cool. 780 00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:56,320 And then after that, we slowly walked out to the backdrop area. 781 00:40:56,640 --> 00:40:58,760 I collected my jacket and it was nice, right? 782 00:40:58,760 --> 00:41:01,720 Because it was all in the botanical gardens, so everything 783 00:41:01,720 --> 00:41:05,080 was like on a hill in the grass. The sun had come out. 784 00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:07,960 It was just absolutely gorgeous. It does sound cool. 785 00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:11,520 Yeah, it was beautiful. After that I went back to my 786 00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:14,400 hotel and I took a really long hot shower. 787 00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:20,000 I felt amazing and off I was to meet my friends at a pup, 788 00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:23,560 actually the oldest pub in Sydney, which was the fortune of 789 00:41:23,560 --> 00:41:26,920 war where you know, the Australians started drinking. 790 00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:30,440 I, I had two beers. I couldn't hang for more, but 791 00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:33,200 they were like little fishies, their culture. 792 00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:35,920 I think they could all drink me on the table any day. 793 00:41:35,920 --> 00:41:39,560 I switched to chocolate milk after 2 beers and then we spent 794 00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:43,160 a day, well, we we had some food as well, and then we switched 795 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:46,720 venues and ended up dancing the night away, which was also 796 00:41:46,720 --> 00:41:47,920 really fun. Cool. 797 00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:52,280 The day after that was just a press event at the zoo. 798 00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:57,320 So we got to go to the zoo and take photos of the athletes. 799 00:41:57,320 --> 00:42:01,200 Stefan Hassan Kipchogi, the wheelchair athletes were there, 800 00:42:01,200 --> 00:42:03,960 Marcel, who was there. So I finally got to say hi to 801 00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:06,000 him and chat with him for a little bit. 802 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:11,240 And yeah, that was really cool. He told me, unfortunately, what 803 00:42:11,240 --> 00:42:15,000 had happened to the American wheelchair racer Daniel 804 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:18,400 Romanchuk. Apparently a spectator had come 805 00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:24,360 out during the race, try to cross the path, and he collided. 806 00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:28,800 The Daniel Warmontrock collided with the pedestrian and had hurt 807 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:30,680 his shoulders. So that was really bad. 808 00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:33,880 But yeah, yeah. So the zoo event was awesome. 809 00:42:33,880 --> 00:42:37,080 I ended up staying at the zoo for a couple more hours 810 00:42:37,080 --> 00:42:41,080 afterwards just to see the animals I didn't see during that 811 00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:43,200 Wednesday, and that was pretty much it. 812 00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:46,120 So that pretty much wraps up everything that has to do with 813 00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:48,440 the marathon during this trip, Yeah. 814 00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:51,320 Sounds like a good trip. Was an amazing trip. 815 00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:52,640 So you're doing it again next year? 816 00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:55,640 I mean, if I get in, I definitely hope so. 817 00:42:55,640 --> 00:42:59,080 It was just, you know, everything about Sydney spoke to 818 00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:01,000 me. I really like the city of 819 00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:03,560 Sydney. It was a cool city. 820 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:09,080 And then not just my friends from the countries of the world 821 00:43:09,080 --> 00:43:12,480 that were there, but also the locals were really, really nice. 822 00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:15,320 And then of course, my Australian friends. 823 00:43:15,320 --> 00:43:17,520 I don't know, it felt very homey. 824 00:43:17,840 --> 00:43:19,280 Well, that's cool. It sounds awesome. 825 00:43:19,560 --> 00:43:21,360 Sounds like you had a good time. Anything else? 826 00:43:21,360 --> 00:43:24,000 Any final thoughts? Final thoughts If you have the 827 00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:26,640 chance to run Sydney, do it right. 828 00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:32,360 So next on the agenda is still Chicago, which is about 5 weeks 829 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:34,040 out from now. So do you think you're ready for 830 00:43:34,040 --> 00:43:36,320 Chicago? I hopefully will be yes. 831 00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:40,640 I mean, I just want to get to as close to 320 as possible again, 832 00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:44,960 just because I lost a few pounds in the summer and I feel like, 833 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:48,560 you know, when you lose extra weight then you get faster. 834 00:43:48,560 --> 00:43:52,080 I just want to approach this one differently and not just always 835 00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:53,840 run marathons just to finish them. 836 00:43:53,840 --> 00:43:55,760 I want to kind of push myself a little bit if I can. 837 00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:57,720 And Chicago is very easy for that, right, Because it's a 838 00:43:57,720 --> 00:44:00,640 short flight away from us. It is relatively short and 839 00:44:00,680 --> 00:44:03,840 you've you've raced it a few Times Now, so you have an idea 840 00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:05,600 of like what your times would be. 841 00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:08,280 Yeah, exactly. So good luck in Chicago. 842 00:44:08,520 --> 00:44:10,920 Thank you, thank you. And I guess with that, we're 843 00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:14,120 going to wrap up this episode. If you're still there, thank you 844 00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:16,600 for listening. Stay tuned for next week. 845 00:44:16,600 --> 00:44:19,320 I'm not sure what we're going to have on yet, but I'm sure we'll 846 00:44:19,320 --> 00:44:21,800 come up with something pretty cool and with that. 847 00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:25,800 Have a good week of running. Thanks for tuning in. 848 00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:30,800 For more information, go to www.marathonrunningpodcast.com 849 00:44:31,040 --> 00:44:33,080 or check us out on all channels.